Faults:

Three months after purchase a lot of smoke came from behind the dashboard, repaired under warranty.

Due to vandalism -someone stole petrol from the tank and bashed the plug into the tank- the fuel tank needed to be replaced.

Windscreen spontaneous cracked.

At 100K fuel pump replaced.

At 110K water pump replaced.

At 130K & 170K battery replaced.

At 150K exhoust corroded trough, replaced.

At 150K front bumper spontaneous fell off while parked inside.

At 180K starting the car (warm and cold) became difficult. The dealer told that the starter motor needed replacement, the car was sold with bad starter motor.

Left and Right wings had serious corrosion.

Overall a very reliable car only the faulty wiring behind the dashboard left me stranded next to the road.

General Comments:

The 18 was a very comfortable, spacious and practical car (I drove the break version).

It brought me all over Europa from Spain to north Sweden, packed four people, two tents and all baggage (with the spare wheel in between the front and back seats, why didn't Renault design a proper space for it normally it was just standing in the boot blocking part of last right window).

Build quality was not the best and steering heavy, but still the nicest car to drive I owned so far (I owned 5 Toyota Corolla's since).

Faults:

Partially due to a lot of city traffic, the synchro of 2nd gear gave up. The car now has a second hand gearbox from another Renault 18.

The radiator was replaced. So were all the shock absorbers, the coil springs of the back suspension and the clutch. All brakes have been overhauled.

For some odd reason, the clutch cable broke three times.

Corrosion is an issue that has to be attended to. You have to tackle it at an early stage (which I did), otherwise the body work of your 18 will slowly disintegrate.

General Comments:

Very spacious, comfortable and reliable car. It has the best car seats I ever sat on in my life!!!

The 1647 cc engine is very reliable and gives sufficient power. It never let me down once.

If you have a model without power steering (which I believe applies to most 18s), then parking the car in a tight spot gives you a nice body workout :-)

The car has rather soft suspension, which is great on straight roads, but lousy in curves. However in terms of comfort, performance and reliability, it can still compete with all current models in its class.